The history of Orcs and Goblins, as recorded by Men, Dwarfs and Elves, is an account of the rise and fall of huge tribes which have fought against them. Only the really big and powerful tribes impinge upon human or Dwarf history. As such it is a fragmented account but a spectacularly bloody one, punctuated by occasions when the whole of the Old World stood on the brink of destruction.

Before the time of Sigmar the lands west of the Worlds Edge Mountains were as much a realm of Orcs as they were of Men. The tribes of Men were divided amongst themselves, with embittered rivalries and long feuds leading to constant warfare and raiding. The Orc and Goblin tribes were engaged in their own wars against each other and against the tribes of Men, so the whole land was dangerous and strife torn. In the Worlds Edge Mountains the Night Goblins were multiplying deep within their tunnels, and most of the ancient subterranean realm of the Dwarfs was in the possession of Orcs and Goblins.

From out of this turmoil emerged Sigmar, a great leader of Men and the founder of the Empire. Sigmar united the human tribes and forged a mighty army to rid the land of Orcs and claim it for his own. After many battles the Orcs were driven north into the Forest of Shadows and deep into the Great Forest itself. In the east, many old Dwarf holds were cleared out, and the power of the Orcs was broken for many years. It was a terrible time for the Orcs, who suffered defeat after defeat and never found a leader of their own to equal Sigmar.

Eventually the Orcs sent to the east for reinforcements, and a huge Orc army headed up towards the Black Fire Pass from the Badlands, which in those days encompassed the whole of the area which would come to be known as the Border Princes. The Orc army destroyed a small scouting force of Dwarfs who were unlucky enough to be caught at the eastern end of the pass. Wild with their easy victory, the Orc army advanced quickly into the pass itself, taking little care to scout ahead or leave a rearguard to protect its line of march.

The ensuing conflict is the most famous battle in all of the history of Men, the Battle of Black Fire Pass. The Orc army was destroyed and Sigmar was ultimately victorious. It was not the end of the Orcs of course, and in the following years Sigmar took the battle deep into the forests and mountains, rooting out Goblin strongholds and driving his enemies ever deeper into the wilds.

Gorbad Ironclaw was one of the most successful Orc leaders of all time: his campaign of destruction raged across the Empire and left the region of Solland so devastated that it has never fully recovered. He rose to power deep in the Badlands where his tribe, the Ironclaws, held the fortress known as the Iron Rock.

The Iron Rock is a core of molten iron vomited from the bowels of the earth during some incalculably ancient upheaval. It lies in the western shadows of Thunder Mountain, and was discovered by the Dwarfs who mined into it creating a labyrinth of tunnels, caverns and partially complete workings. The Orcs found the Iron Rock when they overran the Worlds Edge Mountains, establishing their own domain over all the peaks between Mad Dog Pass and Fire Mountain.

The Ironclaw Orcs lived around the Iron Rock for many years, and their fortunes rose and fell with the accustomed regularity of Orc tribes. The Ironclaw’s chief rival was the Broken Tooth tribe, whose leader was the notoriously huge and brutal Crusher Zogoth. The Broken Tooths were currently in possession of Black Crag, the old Dwarf hold to the south. In a lightning raid Gorbad moved his army through the ancient Dwarf tunnels and smashed the Broken Tooth tribe before they realised what was happening. Crusher Zogoth escaped into the old Dwarf tunnels threatening revenge and Gorbad sent wild Cave Squigs after him. The squealing of the Cave Squigs echoed through the passages of Black Crag for several days, and Night Goblin Squig Hunters were sent in to retrieve them. Neither Squigs nor Goblins ever returned.

The Broken Tooths readily accepted Gorbad as their leader, as is the fashion of Orcs who know when they are beaten and who would much sooner be on the winning side. With the Broken Tooths under his thumb Gorbad soon conquered the surrounding Goblin and Night Goblin tribes. Waaagh Gorbad had begun! From all over the Badland tribes of Orcs and Goblins rushed to join the huge army as it gradually moved north.

As the growing Waaagh moved past Mad Dog Pass it was joined by the Goblin tribes that lived along its tunnelstrewn length. As the army swung westwards by the forest below the Dwarf Hold of Everpeak it was joined by Forest Goblin tribes riding giant spiders and whooping their savage war cries. The Waaagh crossed Black Fire Pass by night as the skies thundered and lightning crashed about the peaks of the Black Mountains. A small holding force of Empire troops was swept aside and the Orc army descended into the plains of Averland.

Gorbad Ironclaw took the old Dwarf road through Averland, looting and destroying the farms and small towns along its path. The Orc army made camp at the Three Towers, the ancient Elf ruins on the borders of the Moot. Here the Orcs feasted and fought amongst themselves while their loot lasted, and, after three days of drunken brawling, readied to invade the Moot.

Forewarned of the Orc advance, the Halflings gathered to defend themselves, and the Count of Averland sent troops to support them. It was a futile gesture. Gorbad struck north through the Tower Hills and caught the Halflings and their allies on the Aver Down, the range of low hills in the southern Moot. The Halflings were cut down to a man, and only a few Knights Panther escaped to warn the Emperor Sigismund of the impending approach of the Orc horde.

The Orcs spent two more days looting the Moot and drinking the contents of its many inns. Halfling refugees poured down the river Aver in a convoy of boats, barges, and improvised rafts, and eventually took refuge in Nuln. Meanwhile, the Orcs advanced upon Averheim. Orc war machines battered the city’s gates and broke its walls, and soon the Waaagh was inside the city itself, burning and destroying while the helpless citizens fled to the hills.

By this time Gorbad Ironclaw’s reputation had spread amongst all the Orc and Goblin tribes of the Great Forest, and many more greenskinned warriors flocked southwards to join him. The Orcs began to loot and pillage in their usual fashion, but Gorbad had other plans. On his orders, the Ironclaw Big’uns prowled the burning streets gathering up the half drunken Orcs and dragging the Goblins back into the battlelines. This caused much grumbling and many heads were knocked together just to remind everybody who was boss.

Nuln was next to feel the power of the Waaagh. Gorbad advanced towards the city from the east, roughly following the line of the river Aver. Nuln was already crammed with Halfling refugees and people from eastern Averland who had taken shelter from the Orc horde. The Orcs barely slowed their pace at the town walls, but poured over the city gates destroying and killing in a repetition of the slaughter at Averheim. Brutus Leitdorf, the Count of Averland, ordered the retreat over the great bridge and rallied his troops in the western half of the city.

The Count ordered the centre section of the bridge to be raised as the Orcs approached, cutting off the Orc advance. However it was to no avail: the Orcs swarmed across the river floating on broken timber beams and other debris. At first the Orcs were beaten back and many drowned in the bloodfilled river, but in the end sheer numbers prevailed and the Orcs gained a firm foothold on the western bank. By nightfall the whole city was burning and the few survivors were fleeing southwards towards Altdorf. Brutus Leitdorf was among them, leading the remnants of his army away from the disaster and towards Altdorf.

The destruction of Nuln was a great blow to the Emperor Sigismund and a mighty victory for Gorbad Ironclaw. The Empire’s army was so weakened by the loss of its forces that Sigismund could do nothing but watch and wait while the Orc hordes devastated the surrounding lands. The whole of Solland and Wissenland were plundered and burned after the defeat of another army led by Count Eldred of Solland in what came to be known in the Empire as the Battle of Solland’s Crown. Count Eldred was slain in personal combat by Gorbad and the Solland sword, the Runefang of Solland given to Sigmar’s heirs by the Dwarfs, was taken by the Orcs. According to legend, Gorbad tore the crown of Solland from the Count’s head and placed it upon his own, and wore it thereafter as a token of his victory. The Orcs rampaged through Solland for weeks, burned and looting, until turning north once more towards Altdorf.

An army was dispatched under the Count of Wissenland to intercept the advancing Orcs before they reached the capital. The Count of Wissenland, Erich Adolphus, was counted the best general in the Empire, the victor of several fierce battles against the pretender to the Imperial throne, Count Gerhardt Meister of Middenland.

Adolphus’s army was small but composed of the cream of the Empire’s soldiery – the Reiksguard, Knights of the White Wolf, Knights Panther and Knights of the Blazing Sun. Soon, Wolf Riders began to report news of the Empire army’s advance to Gorbad, who sent a large force of Orc Boar Boys, Wolf Riders, Forest Goblin Spider Riders, and chariots to meet it.

The resulting conflict, the Battle of Grunberg, was unusual in that it consisted almost entirely of mounted troops on both sides, the best of the Empire’s knights versus the most mobile part of the Orc horde. Gorbad led his troops in person, wearing the crown of Solland upon his head and swinging his huge battle axe Morgor the Mangler. At first the Empire knights looked unstoppable as they drove the Goblin wolf riders from the field, but soon both sides became embroiled in handtohand combat where the Knights’ lances were hindered by the close press of warriors.

With their troops locked in combat both leaders rushed forward to add their weight to the battle. The Empire’s greatest general and the mightiest Orc Warlord of the age fell upon each other with the fury of ancient enemies. Gorbad drove his wolf chariot straight at the Count, its three slavering wolves leaping as one for their enemy’s throat. Adolphus swung his sword, one of the twelve mighty Runefangs, and brother to the Solland blade taken by Gorbad at the Battle of Solland’s Crown. The three wolves fell dead, all three heads severed with one blow as the Runefang described a bloody arc through the air. Gorbad’s chariot came to a crashing halt, throwing the Orc Warlord at Adolphus’s feet.

The Count thrust his blade through Gorbad’s massive chest and steaming green blood gushed over his armour. Gorbad bellowed in agony and swung Morgor wildly, catching Adolphus a glancing blow across the temple. Both mighty leaders staggered with pain as the battle swirled around them. As they prepared to strike again knights and boar boys rushed in from both sides and the two leaders were swept apart and caught in the maelstrom of carnage. It was a hardfought battle on both sides, but eventually the Orcs began to gain the upper hand, and the knights fell back before them.

As night fell the Empire army was in full retreat with wolf riders snapping at their heels. Gorbad was too badly hurt to mount a vigorous pursuit, and many gallant knights were able to escape including the badly wounded Count of Wissenland.

In Altdorf the Emperor Sigismund prepared for the Orc invasion by fortifying the city’s walls and gathering in the harvests. After every man, woman and beast within fifty miles was safely enclosed within the capital he ordered the lands about to be devastated. When the Orcs arrived they found fields already burned, wells poisoned, and inns empty. The Orc army therefore lost no time in its usual pillaging, but launched straight into its attack. The first assault was thrown back from Altdorf’s tall walls with the loss of many Orc and Goblin warriors. The marshes around Altdorf made it difficult for the Orcs to group for the assault, and several mobs of Orcs disappeared forever when they strayed into the marshes.

Gorbad halted the attack and prepared for a long siege. At first his huge rock lobbers pounded the walls and dropped stones within the city, causing considerable damage. In response the city’s cannons were trained against the Orcs and soon the rock lobbers were silenced. Gorbad, still weak from the wound suffered at Grunberg, was unprepared for a frontal assault. He began to collect together an aerial force to attack the city. Four wyverns from the Worlds Edge Mountains took to the air, swooping and marauding within the city while Goblin doom divers rained down causing panic and consternation.

During the height of the fighting Sigismund was slain as he led a regiment of archers out to defend the palace against wyvern attack. Two wyverns fell on the same night and after the Emperor’s death the aerial attacks gradually subsided and the siege settled down into a protracted stalemate.

As time ebbed away the wound inflicted by the Count of Wissenland did not heal but began to trouble the mighty Orc Warlord more and more. For days he would rage in fevered pain, screaming at his minions and cursing his underlings for failing to deliver Altdorf into his hands.

Gradually his horde dissipated, the power of the Waaagh lost its impetus, and the tribes returned to the forests and mountains. Eventually even Gorbad had to give up, Altdorf had defeated him and the Waaagh was over. The Ironclaws and the Broken Tooths were all that was left of the countless Orc tribes that had flocked to Gorbad’s banner. There were more Goblin tribes still loyal or too afraid to desert, but even they were few compared to the great days of conquest. Gorbad Ironclaw withdrew to the east, following the river Reik back to the Worlds Edge Mountains. As his depleted army made its way home it was harried by Dwarfs and Men, and even attacked by Orc tribes that had once fought as part of the Waaagh. There was to be only one more pitched battle, the Battle of Blood Peak, fought in the shadow of the notorious redcoloured mountain south of Black Fire Pass.

It was here that the Orc horde was confronted by a large Dwarf army led by the Lord of KarazaKarak. During his first march into the west Gorbad broke into many Dwarf tombs and stole the magic weapons they contained, an act of desecration that enraged the Dwarfs but which they were powerless to prevent at the time. As Gorbad headed back east, the Dwarfs saw their chance to revenge themselves and prepared a trap for the retreating Orc army. Although encircled by the Dwarfs, half starved and weary from the march, the Orcs gave a good account of themselves by fighting their way out of the trap and outdistancing the Dwarfs. Gorbad survived but his army was scattered. Divided into many small bands, the Orcs made their way east out of the Old World and recorded history.

As Orcs keep few records of any kind it is uncertain what happened to Gorbad. Perhaps he regained his old power in the Badlands and rebuilt his domain, or maybe he fell to the sword stroke of an ambitious young Orc Warboss before ever reaching the Iron Rock. It’s impossible to be sure what fate befell the mightiest Orc Warlord of all time, but whatever became of him his reputation and memory lives on. To Orcs he has become a great hero whose spirit stands beside the gods Gork and Mork in battle. To Men he is a reminder of the terrifying destructive power of the Waaagh!

After the particularly bitter winter that began the Imperial year 2512, a massive horde of Orcs and Goblins descended from the World’s Edge Mountains and ravaged the eastern provinces of the Empire. The Orc Warlord that led them was Azhag the Slaughterer, and under his command were tribes of Orcs and Goblins from the highlands around Red Eye Mountain. In ancient times Red Eye Mountain was a mighty Dwarf realm called Karak Ungor, the Delving Hold. Since the fall of the old Dwarf Empire it has become the most powerful Night Goblin stronghold north of Mad Dog Pass.

Azhag’s career of carnage began when he was chieftain of a small Orc tribe from the Troll country. His feet were firmly placed upon the road to power when he uncovered a magic artefact, the Crown of Sorcery, in the subterranean ruins of the daemonhaunted city of Todtheim on the edge of the Northern Wastes.

When attacked by marauding Chaos warbands Azhag and his Orcs were forced underground into the labyrinthine ruins of Todtheim. The Orcs spent weeks in the darkness, fighting off the monstrosities that lived in the cursed city. After fighting many monsters and uncovering countless ancient horrors, Azhag was confronted by a huge Chaos Troll. Azhag fought the Troll, and eventually chased it back to its lair where he slew it after a bloody struggle.

Searching through the Troll’s hoard of treasure he chanced upon the Crown of Sorcery. Unsuspecting of its true power, Azhag placed the metal band upon his head, and instantly its magic began to work. Strange and terrifying thoughts flooded his mind, and darkness over whelmed him. Azhag and his tribe fought its way out of Todtheim easily, indeed, Azhag seemed almost to know the way out. Azhag was changed. Sometimes the tribe’s Big’uns recognised their old leader as he stomped up and down the battle lines bawling at his lads. At other times, and especially at night, he seemed disturbingly different. His eyes appeared dark and fixed, as if possessed of some terrifying secret.

At first he wore the crown he had found only occasionally, but later it was always on his scarred green skull and he became increasingly silent and brooding. Unknown to the Orcs, the crown was working its power upon Azhag, for it was an ancient and evil device that once belonged to the Liche Lord Nagash himself, and his power and his spirit still clung to it. Azhag was not entirely Azhag any more, the immeasurably strong personality of Nagash was gradually eating him away. But Azhag and Nagash had one thing in common, a lust for conquest and power that the Orc warlord was now in a position to fulfil.

Azhag’s tribe struck eastwards, into the Worlds Edge Mountains and against the Orc and Goblin tribes that lived there. At first his challenges were met by rival warbosses, and there were several bloody battles, but after rumours of Azhag’s victories became well known the tribes gave up any ideas of fighting and flocked to join the growing Waaagh. Moving southwards along the Worlds Edge Mountain chain he conquered tribe after tribe, and eventually all the Night Goblins of Red Eye Mountain joined the Waaagh. This greatly increased the size of Azhag’s army, for there are more Night Goblin tribes living in and around Red Eye Mountain than anywhere else in the Old World.

After holing up for the winter of 2512 the horde descended into the eastern provinces of the Empire. At first the Orcs looted and pillaged through Ostermark, feasting upon the few beasts that the people had carefully nurtured through the winter and driving the impoverished population westwards through the snow. The towns of Kohlizt and the Temple of Sigmar at Nachtdorf were razed to the ground. The Count of Ostermark led a small army of local troops and Knights Panther to try and stem the Orcs’ advance, but his troops were hopelessly outnumbered and soon driven from the field in rout.

The Count rallied his forces in Bechafen where the constant stream of refugees meant lean rations and poor quarters for all. The snows persisted until the second month of the new year, and many died of cold and hunger before the spring. The cold did little to hinder the Orcs, for Orcs and Goblins are hardy creatures, and, if needs must, will eat any flesh no matter how foul or what manner of creature it comes from. The Orcs were also provided with food and reinforcements by Forest Goblins who flocked to join them from the Great Forest.

Bypassing Bechafen the horde headed west, towards the Middle Mountains and Ostland, crossing the river Talabec by the old bridge at Rinn. The Imperial troops posted to defend the river gates from Kislev fled when they saw the green horde stretched out across the horizon and advancing at full speed towards them. In Ostland the horde began to loot and destroy with customary Orc efficiency, crushing the spring crops underfoot and gorging themselves on the hard won stores of the local people.

Tough frontier folk that they were, the Ostlanders fought as hard as they could, and the Count of Ostland gathered an army to fight the green tide. At the Battle of Grim Moor the Count Valmir von Raukov won a temporary respite, putting to rout many of Azhag’s Goblins before being forced to withdraw.

Azhag flew over the battlefield on his wyvern, swooping upon regiment after regiment and harrying the retreating army as it made its way to the refuge of Wolfenburg. After the battle Orc tribes came from the Forest of Shadows, swelling Azhag’s horde still further, but the Count of Ostland built his defences well and Wolfenburg held out. Frustrated at this setback Azhag headed south, where the horde wreaked havoc, destroying the town of Forstich before turning back east through the Great Forest and into Ostermark once more. By now the Emperor’s army was approaching from the south, led by one of his most able generals, Marshal Otto Blucher.

The two armies met near the village of Osterwald, where, after a long and close fought battle the Orcs were driven from the field. Early in the battle Azhag was struck from the back of his wyvern while fighting against the Knights Panther, leaving the Orc army leaderless and demoralised in the face of a fierce Empire attack. It was the end of Azhag and of the Waaagh – with a single blow the Orc horde had been defeated, and after the battle it would disperse into the forests and hills. As for the Crown of Sorcery, it was recovered and taken back to Altdorf by the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar who placed it in the deepest vault of the Temple to be guarded for eternity by powerful spells and iron locks.

Most of the warlords whose campaigns of destruction have shaken the world and threatened the destruction of the realms of Men have been Orcs rather than Goblins. Orcs are bigger than Goblins, more dangerous, and more brutally ambitious. Grom was to prove the exception, a Goblin who was not only as dangerous and ambitious as the best Orc, but vastly bigger as well! It was not that Grom was especially tall, certainly not as tall as an Orc, but he was enormously and infamously fat. In fact he was so huge that he became known as the Paunch of Misty Mountain, or simply as Grom the Fat.

If tales are to be believed his improbable bulk was due to his eating raw Troll for a wager. Apart from being enormously tough, Troll flesh has the unusual property of being able to regenerate itself quite quickly. If a Troll suffers harm his flesh will almost instantly regrow. It is this as much as their stubborn stupidity and ironhard muscle which makes Trolls very hard to fight. It also makes Troll flesh virtually impossible to eat unless it is very thoroughly cooked.

Determined to outeat his challenger, Grom consumed a plate of raw Troll steaks only to discover the meat regenerating inside his stomach. As the churning mass swelled within him his resilient Goblin digestive system got to work on the overabundance of raw material. For days Grom lay moaning and groaning as at first the Troll’s regenerative abilities outpaced his own ability to digest it and then his stomach gradually gained ground. Eventually an equilibrium was reached, and although the Troll flesh was still there Grom was digesting it as fast as it was regrowing.

After several weeks of fevered indigestion and almost terminal flatulence Grom emerged triumphant. He was also quite a bit fatter. Although he ate nothing afterwards he continued to gain weight thanks to the presence of the Troll flesh. He was to suffer from bouts of explosive flatulence for the rest of his life.

Grom’s tribe was the Broken Axe, a tribe of Goblins that lived at the eastern end of Mad Dog Pass. The tribe occu pied one of the countless tumbledown fortresses that line the craggy and tunnel strewn pass. Some time around the Imperial year 2400 Grom engaged in the infamous eating contest described above. The effect was to be startling and highly visible. To Orcs and Goblins size is power and by any reckoning Grom was looking to be very powerful indeed. Within ten years he had conquered the other tribes along the Mad Dog Pass and subjugated the Night Goblin tribes that lived around and under Thunder Mountain. It was the beginning of Waaagh Grom and the birth of a legend amongst Orc kind.

For a number of years the Broken Axe tribe wandered west and north, conquering the Orc and Goblin tribes of the southern Worlds Edge Mountains and the Badlands. Some time around the year 2410 Grom led his horde over the Black Fire Pass and then northwards along the Dwarfheld highlands. Destroying several small Dwarf holds and looting the tombs of Dwarf ancestors, his forces roamed unopposed whilst the Dwarfs gathered their forces.

At the Battle of Iron Gate, the site of one of the old Dwarf gateways into Karak Varn, the King of the Dwarfs and his army met a part of Grom’s Horde led by Grom himself. After a long and hard fought battle the two sides retreated leaving many dead on the field but no clear victor. Nonetheless the battle ultimately favoured Grom who could afford to lose vast numbers of troops without affecting his horde’s strength. For the Dwarfs it was a disaster. Many of the King’s best warriors lay dead and all hope of driving the horde away were gone. In desperation the Dwarfs sent to the Empire for help.

Unfortunately for the Dwarfs and for the Empire the reigning Emperor was Dieter IV, the Elector Count of Stirland, perhaps the most ineffective and self serving individual ever to sit upon the Imperial throne. For years Dieter had diverted resources away from the army and into his own pocket. Nothing had been spared to turn the city of Nuln into a spectacular metropolis with marble fountains, golden statues, and dazzling gardens. Dieter had razed nearly half the city to build his awesome Palace of Gold with its surrounding temples and public gardens. When the Dwarf King’s messenger reached Dieter the Emperor reacted immediately, not by sending help (for the army was so starved of funds there was no help to send) but by removing his entire court westwards to Altdorf in order to be as far as possible from the threat of Grom’s horde. Disgusted, the Dwarf messenger returned to Karaz a Karak where the King received the news of the Emperor’s decision with typical Dwarf stoicism. Unable to contain the Goblin Warlord’s ambitions, the Dwarfs resolved to shut their stout doors and defend their fortresses from within. For the next few years the horde ravaged at will through the mountains, desecrating shrines, despoiling tombs, and waylaying travellers, but Grom was unable to take any of the Dwarf holds or bring them to battle.

As the Waaagh roamed freely over the Worlds Edge Mountains it was joined by multitudes of Goblins including the Night Goblin tribes of Red Eye Mountain and many Forest Goblin tribes from the Great Forest. As his armies grew in number and strength Grom ventured further and further west, devastating much of Stirland, Talabecland and even going as far as Hochland in the shadow of the Middle Mountains. Empire armies were met and defeated. The human population retreated to the towns and much of the countryside was abandoned. The Great Forest became a virtual Goblin realm where not even an Imperial army was safe. Nuln, whose city defences had long been neglected in favour of marbled magnificence was attacked and burned. Dieter’s marvellous Palace of Gold and all his great buildings and fountains were destroyed.

The horde moved westward until the whole Empire became a land under siege. Communities driven from the countryside huddled behind heavily defended walls while outside the horde roamed and plundered at will. Seeing the humans abandoning their lands, the tribes of the deep forests and high mountains flocked to join the Waaagh. The end of the Empire seemed inevitable, for no land was being tilled or crops sown, beasts were slaughtered and seed grain ground into flour to feed the hungry.

The Emperor seemed unable or unwilling to even raise an army, but skulked behind the walls of Altdorf and dreamed of better days. While the Emperor did nothing, his cousin, Wilhelm Prince of Altdorf, was to prove the saviour of the Empire. He organised the defence of Altdorf and raised a new army from amongst the beleaguered citizens. Although Wilhelm’s army was no match for the total power of the Waaagh, Grom’s forces were split up all over the Empire into many small armies. By avoiding the largest concentrations of Orcs and Goblins Wilhelm was able to fight several successful holding actions and prevent Grom from completely devastating the Reikland.

Meanwhile Grom’s attentions had turned to the west and to the coastal regions of the Empire. After wreaking havoc throughout the Middenland and defeating an army led by the Count of Middenheim, Grom reached the shores of the ocean. According to Imperial records the horde gathered at the coast and began to construct a huge fleet.

Acres of forest were felled to provide the timber, and whole tribes of Goblins were sent to forage for materials amongst the ruins of the Empire. For weeks the forges bellowed and Goblins sweated as Grom’s fleet took shape. It was a fleet whose like had never been seen before, vast hulks of crudely fashioned wood propelled by massive tread wheels and gigantic sails. The world watched as the fleet took shape. Riders from the Empire sent word to Bretonnia, Kislev, and the southern kingdoms warning them of the inevitable approach of the armada. Rulers throughout the Old World trembled and waited, hoping that the path of the Waaagh would pass them by.

When the fleet put sail outriders from the Empire followed its progress along the coast. At Marienburg the Orcs fought a massive and bloody sea battle against the Empire fleet, sending half the Imperial ships to the bottom of the sea and scattering the rest to the four winds. Marienburg lay open to the plundering Orc and Goblin horde and the sturdy Marienburgers prepared to defend their city. As fortune would have it the weather turned for the worse, and Grom’s fleet was blown westward before a devastating storm. The Goblins, unused to the sea and ignorant of navigation, could do nothing but ride out the storm.

At least one ship was broken up and its wreckage cast upon the coasts of Bretonnia, but of Grom and the rest of the Waaagh nothing was ever seen again in the realms of Men. Only years later did the full story of Grom’s voyage to the Elven land of Ulthuan emerge, and did Men learn of the final defeat and destruction of the Waaagh before Tor Yvresse.

After the collapse of the Dwarf empire almost three and a half thousand years ago the Dwarf stronghold of Karak Eight Peaks lay in ruins. Its deep caverns and tunnels were taken over by Night Goblins and Skaven. Deeper still nameless horrors crawled into the old Dwarf mines and settled in the longabandoned depths. Within a few years of Karak Eight Peaks’ fall the Night Goblins had settled permanently in the ruins and split into many tribes based around the adjoining mountains and the tunnels that ran beneath them.

Although the Dwarfs often tried to recapture Karak Eight Peaks they did not succeed until about the Imperial year 2470, when Belegar established a fortified bridgehead in the old citadel. Though the Dwarfs were forced to live in a virtual state of siege, they gradually managed to clear the Night Goblins and other evil creatures out of the upper levels. Today Belegar and his kinsfolk still live amongst the ruins of Karak Eight Peaks, and hope one day to reconquer the whole realm of their ancestors.

Belegar’s Dwarfs face constant raiding by the Night Goblin tribes that live in the surrounding eight peaks of the old Dwarf kingdom. The most powerful of these tribes is the Crooked Moon tribe under its leader Skarsnik. Skarsnik is a cunning and observant leader who has grown to understand the Dwarf mind. When Belegar arrived he watched the Dwarfs rebuild their citadel but did not attack at first. Instead he waited until stragglers ventured outside the walls and then picked them off one by one, capturing the Dwarfs alive if possible and tormenting them for days within earshot of the citadel walls.

Over the years Skarsnik has amassed a large collection of Dwarf beard scalps which he displays on long wooden stakes driven into the mountain side. The Dwarfs are forced to watch the number of beard scalps grow day by day, while by night the pounding war drums of the Night Goblins and the screaming of captives haunts their sleep. Skarsnik’s fame has grown amongst the other tribes, and today all the Night Goblins of Karak Eight Peaks, and many others besides, hail him as their undisputed master.

About forty years before the present day, Belegar attempted to break the deadlock with aid from the north. The Dwarfs sent word to the Dwarf capital of Karaz a Karak high in the Worlds Edge Mountains, explaining that the Night Goblins were virtually holding them prisoners within their own citadel and that without reinforcements it could only be a matter of time before the Dwarfs were defeated. Duregar, a kinsman of Belegar from Karaz a Karak, immediately gathered an army and marched southwards along the western flanks of the mountains.

By this time Skarsnik’s horde had grown into a huge Waaagh. The Night Goblin warlord’s forces were fighting every Dwarf and Orc between Thunder Mountain to the north and Fire Mountain to the south. In the Badlands several Orc tribes joined the Waaagh. Even Barak Varr, the Sea Fortress of the Dwarfs by the Black Gulf, was under attack. As the Dwarfs from Karaz a Karak marched south they saw the rising plumes of smoke in front of them.

Messengers from Barak Varr brought news that the western approaches to Karaz Eight Peaks were held in strength by the Red Fang Orcs led by Gorfang Rotgut. It was at this point that Duregar made an important decision. Rather than enter Karak Eight Peaks from the west, he would cross the Worlds Edge Mountains and move south along the eastern edge, entering Karak EightPeaks from what he hoped would be the more lightly held eastern gate. With the sun ebbing in the sky and the smoke of Thunder Mountain drifting across the horizon, the Dwarf army camped at the entrance to Mad Dog Pass.

The following day the Dwarfs advanced into the pass. Mad Dog Pass is notoriously dangerous. Its steep sides are thronged with Goblin strongholds and its rocky slopes overlay caves and tunnels that are riddled with evil creatures. Duregar pinned his hopes on Dwarven determination to keep the army safe. As the Dwarfs advanced into the mouth of the pass they were attacked by a large army of Orcs and Goblins that had apparently been waiting to attack them from behind once they had moved south. The Dwarfs were hard pressed at first, but eventually saw the Orcs off with the help of their formidable cannons. This battle became known later as the Battle of the Jaws, an apt name considering the manner in which the Orc attack closed in on the Dwarfs, like the jaws of the Mad Dog itself.

During the battle five Troll Slayers distinguished themselves by attacking and destroying three Trolls which were perilously close to crushing Duregar himself. Only two of the Troll Slayers survived. One was heard to complain that there were insufficient Trolls to go round.

Although the Orcs and Goblins were beaten they accounted for only a small part of Skarsnik’s horde. When he heard of his army’s defeat he proclaimed a huge mushroom feast and ordered his shamans to brew up a fresh batch of Mad Cap fungus liquor for the Fanatics. Squig Hunters were dispatched into the deep tunnels to fetch more Cave Squigs, while Netters were sent off to hunt down Stone Trolls amongst the mountains. As the Dwarfs moved south Goblins watched them from the hills, reporting their movements by means of oily smoke signals and throbbing war drums.

Skarsnik sat upon his iron throne and waited. In the meantime he amused himself by feeding Dwarf captives to Gobbla, the enormous, malodorous and psychopathically vicious Cave Squig which he kept firmly chained to his left leg. Why the demented creature never bit Skarsnik was a matter of some mystery. It certainly bit everything else.

Duregar’s army moved steadily southwards until it reached the eastern entrance to Death Pass. The East Gate of Karak Eight Peaks lay several miles inside the pass through a broad side valley paved with ancient stones and studded with the ruined tombs of Dwarf ancestors. The Dwarfs advanced in battle formation fully expecting an attack from the steep mountain slopes which towered ominously above the old Dwarf road.

The East Gate had been built thousands of years before at a place where a long ridge ran down into the valley causing it to narrow to a hundred yards or less. Here the Dwarfs of antiquity had built their gate, once a vast and impregnable fortress but now little more than a pile of stone through which the road still led. In front of the gate and connected to it by a high causeway was a tall grey watchtower whose summit commanded the approach down the valley. Although partially ruined, the watchtower had been rebuilt and fortified by Skarsnik’s Goblins.

Now it was crammed with Night Goblin archers, and on top there was a huge rock lobber crewed by fierce Orcs. As the Dwarfs marched forwards Orcs and Goblins closed in from their hiding places in the slopes to left and right. Behind them a huge force of Orcs moved to block their escape. The Dwarfs were surrounded by foes on all sides. Stones from the rock lobber began to fall amongst their densely packed ranks. Duregar pushed forward, pinning his hopes on breaking through the East Gate. As the Dwarfs approached the first ranks of Night Goblins a massive whoop went up amongst the greenskins, and from out of their formation charged Night Goblin Fanatics whirling balls and chains. Like spinning tops they lurched crazily towards the Dwarfs. Many were shot down with crossbow bolts, some whirled away and missed the Dwarfs altogether, but some hit the Dwarfs killing many before collapsing with exhaustion.

The Dwarfs advanced. The Night Goblins in front were easily driven away, but just as soon as a gap appeared and the Dwarfs caught sight of the gate more Night Goblins charged in to hold them. Night Goblin archers rained arrows down from the watchtower. Blackfletched arrows hit Dwarf and Night Goblin alike, but the archers carried on shooting regardless, ignoring the hurt done to their fellows.

Things looked bleak for the Dwarfs. Over half of their army had been destroyed during the initial rush towards the gate. The Goblin horde seemed hardly diminished. With typical Dwarf stubbornness Duregar led his troops up onto a small mound, the remains of an ancient Dwarf tomb, to make his last stand. As the Dwarfs steeled themselves for the inevitable assault, there was a loud explosion and the gateway burst apart in a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared Duregar saw Dwarfs pouring through the gateway towards them. The confused Night Goblins scattered leaving piles of dead in their wake. It was Belegar and the Dwarfs of Karak Eight Peaks. They had advanced eastwards from the other side of the gate and destroyed the unsuspecting Night Goblin rearguard before blowing the gates with gunpowder.

The Night Goblins and Orcs were thrown into disorder. Skarsnik, watching from his vantage point on the mountain slopes, saw his army waver. For the Dwarfs it was a much needed respite. The Dwarf forces met across a sea of blood and green bodies. Forming into a huge and solidly packed square the combined army began to move steadily back towards the gate. Before they were half way there the Orcs and Goblins regrouped. When they saw how few Dwarfs there were their confidence returned. Stones from the rock lobber smashed into the Dwarf column and arrows fell amongst their ranks.

Many Dwarfs stumbled to the ground dead with Goblin arrows embedded in them, but more still made the gate. Cave Squigs were unleashed upon the Dwarfs, but several were killed by Troll Slayers while others ran wild snapping at the Night Goblins, biting off limbs and heads before vanishing into the mountains. Smashing through the few Night Goblins that remained to oppose them, Duregar and Belegar headed west. The Night Goblins continued to harass the Dwarf column all the way to the Citadel, but thanks to their heavy armour and natural toughness there were few more casualties. As night fell Skarsnik was master of the battlefield, but Duregar and Belegar had escaped his net.

Although not as catastrophic as it might have been, the Battle of East Gate was a resounding defeat for the Dwarfs. Over half of the Dwarf force had been slain and although Skarsnik had lost many good warriors they were losses he could easily afford. The Dwarf army was bottled up inside the Citadel and, although not destroyed, the Dwarfs were not going anywhere. Skarsnik had other enemies to crush, and would launch huge attacks against Karak Azul, Barak Varr and throughout the Badlands over the course of the next three summers. Gobbla, his hugely bloated and eternally hungry Cave Squig would feed well. Although repulsed time and time again, Skarsnik’s power continues to grow even today, and his grip over the mountains around Karak Eight Peaks is just as tight.